Airplane with material and article handling equipment



June 18, 1946. F. L. HEWITT 2,402,283

AIRPLANE WITH MATERIAL AND ARTICLE HANDLING EQUIPMENT Filed Nov. 18,1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l FRED L. Hawrr'r INVENTOR June 18, 1946. HEWITT2,402,283

AIRPLANE WITH MATERIAL AND ARTICLE HANDLING EQUIPMENT Filed Nov. 18,1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FRED L. HEWITT INVENTOR e05 ATTORNEY;

Patented June 18, I946 AIRPLANE WITH MATERIAL AND ARTICLE HANDLINGEQUIPMENT Fred L. Hewitt. Montvllie, N. 1., assignor to OverlakesFreight Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of DelawareApplication November 1a, 1943, serial No. 510,722

3 Claims. (01. 244-118) My invention relates generally to cargo carryingplanes and trailers or gliders constructed to transport heavy loads, andthe invention has reference particularly to improvements in theconstruction of the cargo carrying compartments of the air transport andto the facilities embodied therein for loading and discharging the cargoat whereby a plurality of cars fully equipped and- 7 ready for deliverymay be efiiciently loaded within the storage compartment of a plane orglider and securely fixed against shifting pr displacement while intransit.

It has been the experience of cargo handling concerns that while theplane is a simple and efficient means for quickly receiving and safely 4storing motor vehicles and having the same reach I their destination asquickly as possible, the proposition can only be maintained on acommercial basis where a maximum load can be carried. It

In the present invenis, therefore. the principal object of the presentinvention to aflord storage facilities within the cargo compartment of aplane or glider, whereby the automobiles to be transported are arrangedon different elevations and at various angles within the cargocompartment to available space.

loading equipment for an airborne transport, of the character described,wherein the latter may be loaded and unloaded with a maximum of emciencyand under all ground conditions involving landing surfaces which aresoft because of the presence of mud or sand.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide anairplane construction with a movable piston-controlled cargo door toafford easy access to the interior of the cargo compartment.

utilize the entire,

A further object of the invention is to provide- 2 the specifications,set forth in the appended claims and illustrativeiy exemplified in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a substantially longitudinal sectional view of a'cargocarrying plane or glider showing the improved arrangement of theautomobile handling apparatus in a loaded position and the cargo door inopen position;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a section of a track orrunway and the hinged connection for the ramp whereby the automobilecarrying apparatus is raised and lowered;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the cargo door in open position forloading or discharging the cargo; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the locking device bymeans of which the tracks or ramps of the automobile carrying apparatusare locked in position after the loading operation is completed.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly Figure 1,- l0 denotes thebody or hull of a cargo plane and II the wings, shown in dotted lines.The hull l0 carries the landing gear l2 and [2, vertical fin and rudderl3 and is provided with a control room I 4 at the nose end and anopening atthe tail closed by a cargo door IS. The cargo door I! conformsto the contour of the hull Ill and is attached thereto along its bottomedge by means of a hinge connection IS. The entire interior of thehulllli, with the exception of the control room It, is designed toafford cargo space.

The cargo space or compartment within the hull III is fitted with aplurality of spaced transverse beams arranged slightly above the underside or belly of the hull, the first such beam being disposed back ofthe nose and under the control room I, the second set traversing the midsection of the hull, while the remainder are disposed equally betweenthe second set and the-hinge connection It, the rearmost beam 11 beingdireetly over the rear landing gear l2". A forward upright bulkhead i8is disposed upon the forward And a still further object of the inventionis to provide a system of movable ramps or tracks within the loadingcompartment of a plane, to

beam l1 and projects to support the forward end ,5 of the control roomI, the rear wall thereof being carried on a bulkhead l9, which receivesits support from a transverse angle bar 2| disposed approximately midwaythe height of the hull Ill.

Extending from the forward bulkhead I8 and resting upon the transversebeams I1 is a pair 1 accomplish the various objects of the inventionby,mesns of certain novel combinations and of channels 2!, spaced apartto accommodate the standard gauge of the automobile wheels. Uprightbeams. 22 are arranged on opposite ends of one of centrally disposedlateral beams ii, the

arrangement of described in upper ends of the beams 22 abutting the topof 3 the hull It. A rear bulkhead 28 is disposed between the uprightbeams 22 on a level with the bulkhead I8 and bridging the two bulkheadsare channel pieces 24, which are spaced apart the same distance as thatof the lower channels 2|, and which are at an elevation to allow a carsupported on the lower channels 2| to be run in and under the upperchannels 24. The rear ends of the channels 24 are provided with hingedfixtures comprising upright side bearing plates 25, stud shafts 26 atthe upper ends thereof and hinged channel ramp pieces 21 pivotallymounted at their inner ends on the shafts 28. The channel ramp pieces 21are approximately twenty feet in length and their outer ends projectingtowards the tail of the hull l are provided with a locking device of thecharacter illustratively exemplified in Figure 4 to enable the free endsof the ramp to be locked to the roof of the cargo compartment. A secondchannel ramp 28 is hinged to the lower channel pieces 2| at a pointrearwardly of the uprightbeams 22 in the manner detailed in Figure 2, i.e., each channel ramp is capable of swinging to an upwardly inclinedposition and being locked to the roof of the bull in the manner of thefirst ramp and of resting directly within the lower channels in itslowered position. The hinged ends of each channel ramp piece 28 areprovided with hinged toe plates 29 which rest at their free ends uponthe bottom of the channels 2| to provide an incline over.

which the wheels of the vehicle pass to the lower channels with aminimum drop. The channels of each of the ramps are securely held at theproper gauge by means of cross members 38, two thereof being disposedpreferably at points coming directly beneath the sets of car wheels.

The locking members, see Figure 4, comprise pivotally supported hookshaped arms 3| at the roof of the hull H), which are embraced bypivotally mounted extensions 32 of the free ends of the side walls ofthe channel pieces, and which carry pins 33 engaged by the hooked endsof the extensions 32. Stop pins 34 on the channel pieces beneath theextensions 32 prevent them from swinging downwardly and lugs. 35 beneaththe channel 2|28 fit the hooks of the depending arms 3| to support theramp while the hook or lock engagement of the extensions 32 with thearms 3| prevent the latter from swinging away and releasing the ramp.

The ramps 27 and 28 are raised at their free ends to engage the lockmechanism by means of suitable electric hoist devices 36.

The ramps are of different transverse sections to enable the firstchannels 21 to drop within the channels 28 and the latter to rest withinthe channels 2|, so as to assume their loading positions as hereinafterdescribed.

Referring now to the construction of the cargo door i5, the latter onits inside is provided with channel tracks 31 and hinged toe plates 31'aimed with the channel pieces 2| and supported on transverse U-shapedbeams or ribs 38 disposed at the hinged end of the door, midway 4|pivotally arranged on brackets 4| on the side walls of the hull l0adjacent the opening. Pistons operate in the cylinders 4| and areconnected to rods 42 which are pivotally connected to the cargo door Itapproximately midway of its length. In the operation of the control 48,fluid is displaced in the cylinders 4|, causing the pistons and rods 42to retract and swing the cargo door It about its hinged connection toclosed position and simultaneously to cause the locking mechanism 33 toengage and hold the door closed. To open the door the remote control 40is operated to release the lock 39 and to allow the pistons and rods 42to project and swing the door toits lowered open position, as shown inFigure 1.

The rear upright supporting beams 22' are disposed at the sides of thehull l0 and define the inner sides of the cargo opening. Directlybeneath the supporting beams 22 isa pair of suitably braced wheel 43,hereinafter referred to as a dolly, the wheels being suitably spacedapart and located on opposite sides of the rear landing gear or wheel l2and adapted to withstand the entire weight of the plane and cargo.

The landing gear I2 is carried on a retractable .piston arm 44 whichwhen operated from a remote control 45 in the control room |4 cause thegear l2 to retract, thereby lowering the rear end of the plane to settleupon the dolly 43, which is securely attached to the plane and providesa suitable bearing uponwhich the plane may be loaded.

In the nose of the plane is a cylinder 66 disposed upright, in which apiston rod or Jack 41 is operated, the lower end of the arm beingprovided with a flat shoe 48 to engage the ground. The piston rod isfluid operated and controlled from a remote control 48 in the controlroom l4. Upon loading or discharging cargo, the control 49 is operatedcausing the piston rod or arm 41 to project until the flat shoe esengages the ground,'thereby supporting the nose 4 of the plane againsttipping forward.

Each set of channels is provided with four tie down chassis clamps 50,which are adjustable as to heights and location along, the channels, andwhich in operation clamp onto the chassis of the car and are contractedto pull the latter down on its spring until all movement of the wheelsis prevented and practically all pressure is exerted on the frame of thecar and not on its tires.

In the operation of the present invention, the plane is adjusted bymeans of the support 37 and dolly 43 to loading position. Ramps 28 and27 are lowered by means of the electric hoists 38 so as to bring tracks28 within tracks 2| and the free ends of 2'! inside tracks 28. The cargodoor I5 is open and a car is run into the cargo compartment over tracks2| and 28 and up on ramp 2'! until the front wheels are resting ontracks 24 and the rear wheels on the ramp. The hoist 36 is set in motionand the ramp 21 is swung upwardly to its locked position as shown inFigure 1. Two more cars are then run in over tracks 2| and 28, theforward car being stored on the length of track 2| forward of the ramp28 while the second car remains on the ramp to which it is aflixed, asare all the cars, by means of the clamps 50. The second hoist 36 is setin operation and ramp 28- is raised to itsupwardly inclined position andlooked as shown in Figure 1. A fourth car is thereafter run in' over therear portion of the track 2| underneath the ramp 28. As a finaloperation the control 40 is set in motion and the piston operated cargodoor is raised to closed position and locked. Controls 45 and 49 areoperated and the support or jack 4! retracts while the rear gear l2descends to lift the tail of the plane from the dolly 43. The plane andits cargo are then supported solely upon the landing gear l2 and I2 andis ready to take off. The same operation takes place if the air vehicleis a glider, the use of which enables a train of units to be taken aloftand detached at designated points to glide to a field and discharge itscargo while the remainder of the train proceeds to other destinations.

Having described my invention and the manner in which the samefunctions, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cargo carrying aeroplane having a fuselage including a cargocompartment, a control room disposed in its upper front portion, a doorin its tail portion through which cargo enters and leaves and a landingwheel structure including main landing wheels, the combination of alower cargo floor supported adjacent the bottom of the fuselage andrunning from the front end substantially to the tail end thereof, afixed upper cargo floor running about halfway between the roof of thefuselage and said lower floor and parallel to the latter from a forwardplane at right angles to said floors and containing the rear wall ofsaid control room to a rear plane extending parallel to said front planein the vicinity of the main landing wheels, means for supportin thefront and rear ends of said upper cargo floor on the fuselage, a lowercargo ramp hinged to said lower cargo floor a short distance rearwardlyof said rear plane and extending to a transverse line short of the rearend of said lower floor, an upper cargo ramp hinged to the rear end ofsaid upper floor and substantially shorter than said lower ramp to restwith its free end on the latter, and means to swing said ramps to anupwardly inclined position and to look their free ends to the roof ofthe fuselage.

2. In a cargo carrying aeroplane having a fuselage including a cargocompartment, a control roomdisposed in its upper front portion, a doorin its tail portion through which cargo enters and leaves and a.two-wheel undercarriage intermediate its front end and its center, thecombination of a lower cargo floor S pported adjacent the bottom of thefuselage and running from the front end substantially to the tail endthereof, a fixed upper cargo floor running about 6 halfway between theroof of the fuselage and said lower floor and parallel to the latterfrom a forward plane at right angles to said floors and containing therear wall of said control room to a rear plane extending parallel tosaid front plane a short distance behind the wheel axis of saidundercarriage, mean for supporting the front and rear ends of said uppercargo floor on the fuselage, a lower cargo ramp hinged to said lowercargo floor a short distance rearwardly of said rear plane and extendingto a transverse line short of the rear end of said lower floor, an uppercargo ramp hinged to the rear end of said upper floor and substantiallyshorter than said lower ramp to rest with its free end on the latter,and means to swing said ramps to an upwardly inclined position and tolook their free ends to the roof of the fuselage.

3. In a cargo carrying aeroplane having a fuselage including a cargocompartment, a control room disposed in its upper front portion, a doorin its tail portion through which cargo enters and leaves and atwo-wheel undercarriage intermediate its front end and its center, thecombination of a plurality of spaced transverse beams distributed overthe length of the fuselage. adjacent the bottom thereof, a central oneof said beams being located in a transverse plane a short distancebehind the wheel axis of said undercarriage, a lower cargo floor restingon said beams, a pair of upright struts erected on opposite ends of saidcentral beam, a fixed upper cargo floor extending about halfway betweenthe roof of the fuselage and said lower floor and parallel to the latterfrom a forward plane at right angles to said floors and containing therear wall of said control room to a rear plane containing thelongitudinal axes of said struts, said upper cargo floor having its rearend anchored to and supported by said struts, means for suspending thefront end of said upper cargo floor from the roof of the fuselage, alower cargo ramp hinged to said lower cargo floor a short distance to anupwardly inclined position and to look their free ends to the roof ofthe fuselage.

FRED L. HEWITT.

